AN ACT CREATING A STATE BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION WITHIN THE STATE POLICE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. Bureau Created:--There is hereby created a State Bureau of Identification in the Delaware State Police, hereinafter referred to as "the Bureau," and shall be under the supervision and control of the Superintendent of State Police. The Bureau shall be equipped and maintained by the State police, and shall be located in the main offices of the State Police. The Superintendent of State Police, shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Commission, a Supervisor of the Bureau. The Supervisor shall be a regularly appointed member of the State Police, who shall be trained and experienced in the classification and filing of fingerprints, and he and all other employees of the Bureau shall be subject to the same rules and regulations governing the State Police.

Section 2. Bureau Personnel:--The Bureau personnel shall consist of regular appointed members of the State Police, and such civilian personnel as may be deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The civilian personnel so appointed shall each be experienced in the work to be performed by them.

Section 3. Information to Be Supplied by Peace Officers:--Every sheriff, constable, chief police officer, officer in charge, members of the State Police and other law enforcement agencies and officers of the state and of any local government unit shall within forty-eight hours after the arrest of any person, transmit to the Bureau, so far as available, as provided in Section 7 hereof: (a) The names, fingerprints, photographs, and such other data as the Supervisor may from time to time prescribe to all persons arrested for, or suspected of,

(1) An indictable offense; or such non-indictable offense as is, or may hereafter be, included in the compilations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the U. S. Department of Justice;

(2) Being a fugitive from justice;

(3) Being a vagrant or transit;

(4) Being a suspicious person;

(5) Being concerned in gambling or gambling devices;

(6) Being a known habitual offender, or criminal;

(7) Being habitual users of narcotics, or other habit-forming drugs;

(8) Being the operator of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or leaving the scene of accident without identifying themselves;

(9) Being in possession of stolen goods or of goods believed to have been stolen; and

(0) Being in possession of illegal or illegally carried weapons or in possession of burglar's tools, tools for defacing or altering of the numbers on automobiles, automobile parts, automobile engines, or automobile engine parts; or other articles used in the manufacture or alteration of counterfeit money or bank notes; or illegally in possession of high power explosives, infernal machines, bombs, or other contrivances reasonably believed by the arresting person to be intended to be used for unlawful purposes.

(b) The finger-prints, photographs, and other data prescribed by the Supervisor concerning unidentified dead persons.

(c) The fingerprints, photographs, and other data prescribed by the Supervisor of all persons making application for a permit to

buy or possess illegal weapons or firearms or to carry concealed a deadly weapon.

(d) A record of the indictable offenses and of such non-indictable offenses as are, or may hereafter be committed within the jurisdiction of the reporting officer, including a statement of the facts of the offense and a description of the offender, so far as known, the offenders method of operation, the official action taken, and such other information as the Supervisor may require.

(e) Copies of such reports as are now required by law to be made or as may hereafter be so required, and as shall be prescribed by the Supervisor, to be made by pawnshops, second-hand dealers, and dealers in weapons.

Section 4. Information to Be Supplied by Court Officials:--Every clerk of a court having original or appellate jurisdiction over indictable offenses, or over such non-indictable offenses as are herein mentioned, or, if there be no clerk, every judge or justice of such court, shall transmit promptly to the Bureau, as provided in Section 7 hereof, such statistics and information as the Supervisor shall prescribe regarding indictments and information filed in such court and the disposition made of them, pleas, convictions, committals, acquittals, probations and paroles granted or denied, and any other dispositions of criminal proceedings made in such court.

Section 5. Information to be Supplied by Heads of Institutions:--Every person in responsible charge of reformatories, industrial schools or insane institutions to which there are committed persons convicted of crime or juvenile delinquency or declared to be criminally insane, shall after the effective date of this act, immediately transmit to the Bureau, the names, finger-prints, photographs, and such other data prescribed by the Supervisor of all persons so committed, as provided in Section 7 hereof.

Section 6. Information to be Supplied by Wardens, Jailers or Keepers:--Every warden, jailer, or keeper of workhouses, jails,

penitentiaries or other penal institutions, and every probate officer shall within forty-eight hours, transmit to the Bureau, as provided in Section 7 hereof:

(a) The names, fingerprints, photographs, and other data prescribed by the Supervisor, of all prisoners who within ten years prior to the effective date of this Act, were received in such workhouse, jail, penitentiary or penal institution (or in the predecessors of such institutions) for the violation of an indictable offense, so far as such information is available.

(b) The names, fingerprints, photographs, and other data prescribed by the Supervisor, concerning all persons who are hereafter received or committed to such workhouse, jail, penitentiary or penal institution, or who are hereafter placed on parole or probation for any offense.

(c) The officers and officials described in Sections 5 and 6 herein, shall forward to the Bureau, the names and photographs of all prisoners who are to be released or discharged from such institutions, after having been confined in such institutions for a period of three years or more, such photographs will be taken immediately before release of such persons, and he or she shall be attired in civilian clothes.

(d) Full reports of all transfers to or from such institutions, paroles granted or revoked, discharges, from such institutions or from parole, commutation of sentence, and pardons of all persons described in sub-sections (a), (b) and (c) of this section.

(e) All photographs taken of persons or prisoners described in Sections 3, 5 and 6 herein, shall be of a recent date, taken while such persons or prisoners are attired in civilian clothes.

Section 7. Manner of Furnishing Information:--The officers and officials described in Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 herein shall furnish to the Bureau the information and reports specified in Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 hereof at or within such time or period as the Supervisor shall designate, on forms prescribed by the Supervisor, and to forward without delay two copies, or in such number of copies as the Supervisor may require.

Section 8. Bureau Employees' Access to Public Records:--Any, employee of the Bureau, upon written authorization by the Supervisor, is authorized to enter any institution described in Sections 5 and 6 hereof, to take or cause to be taken fingerprints or photographs or to make investigation relative to any person confined therein, for the purpose of obtaining information which will lead to the identification of criminals; and every person who has charge or custody of public records or documents from which it may reasonably be supposed that information described in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 hereof can be obtained, shall grant access thereto to any employee of the Bureau upon written authorization by the Supervisor, or shall produce such records or documents for the inspection and examination of such employee.

Section 9. Filing Information:--The Bureau shall file all information received by it and shall make a systematic record and index thereof, to the end of providing a method of convenient reference and consultation. No information identifying a person received by the Bureau may be destroyed by it until ten years after the person identified is known or reasonably believed to be dead.

Section 10. Information Voluntarily Supplied by Residents:--Whenever a resident of this State shall appear before any of the officers mentioned in Section 3 hereof, and request an impression of his or her fingerprints, it shall be the duty of such mentioned officer to comply with the request, and make at least two copies of the impressions on forms supplied by the Bureau, one copy shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Washington, D. C., and one copy shall be forwarded promptly to the Bureau as provided in Section 7 hereof together with any personal identification data obtainable. The Bureau shall accept and file such fingerprints and personal identification data submitted voluntarily by such resident in a separate filing system, for the purpose of securing a more certain and easy identification in case of death, injury, loss of memory or change of appearance.

Section 11. Furnishing Information on Application:--Upon application the Bureau shall furnish a copy of all information available pertaining to identification and history of any person or persons of whom the Bureau has a record, or any other necessary information:

(1) To any sheriff, constable, chief police officer of the State or of any local government unit, or to any officer of similar rank and description of any State, or of the United States, or of any foreign country, or

(2) To the prosecuting attorney in any court of this State in which such person is being tried for any offense, or

(3) To the judge in any court of this State in which such person is so being tried.

Section 12. Furnishing Information in Non-Criminal Cases:--If any officer or official described in Section 11 hereof shall transmit to the Bureau the identification data of any unidentified deceased or injured person or any person suffering from loss of memory, the Bureau shall furnish to such officer or official any information available pertaining to the identification of such person.

Section 13. Furnishing Information Without Application:--Although no application for information has been made to the Bureau as provided in Section 11 hereof, the Bureau may transmit such information as the Supervisor shall in his discretion designate, to such persons as are authorized by Section 11 hereof to make application for it and as are designated by the Supervisor.

Section 14. Local Assistance:--At the request of any officer or official described in Sections 3, 5 and 6 hereof, the Superintendent of State Police may direct the Supervisor to assist such officer.

(4) In the establishment of local identification and record system;

(5) In investigating the circumstances of any crime and in the identification, apprehension, and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators thereof, and for this purpose may detail such employee or employees of the Bureau, for such length of time as the Supervisor may deem fit; and

(6) Without such request the Supervisor shall, at the direction of the Governor, detail such employee or employees, for such time as the Governor may deem fit, to investigate any crime within this State, for the purpose of identifying, apprehending, and convicting the perpetrator or perpetrators thereof.

Section 15. Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory. To the end that the Bureau may be able to furnish the assistance and aid specified in Section 14 hereof, the Superintendent of the State Police may direct the Supervisor to organize in the Bureau and maintain therein scientific crime detection laboratory facilities.

Section 16. Certified Copies:--Any copy of a record, picture, photograph, fingerprint or other paper or document in the files of the bureau certified by the Supervisor to be a true copy of the original shall be admissible in evidence in any court of this State in the same manner as the original might be.

Section 17. Reports:--The Supervisor shall submit to the Superintendent of State Police an annual yearly report of the conduct of his office. This report shall present summary statistics of the information collected by the Bureau.

Section 18. Access to Files:--Only employees of the Bureau and persons specifically authorized by the Supervisor shall have access to the files or records of the Bureau. No such file or record or information shall be disclosed by any employee of the Bureau except to officials as hereinbefore provided and except as may be deemed necessary by the Supervisor in the apprehension or trial of persons accused of offenses or in the identification of persons or of property.

Section 19. Authority to Procedure Evidence of Identity:--To the end that the officers and officials described in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 hereof may be enabled to transmit the reports required of them in the said sections, such officers and officials shall have the authority and duty to take, or cause to be taken, fingerprints, photographs, and other data of persons described in the said Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10. A like authority shall be had by employees of the Bureau who are authorized to enter any institution under the provisions of Section 8 hereof, as to persons confined in such institutions.

Section 20. Failure to Make Required Reports:--Any person who neglects, or refuses, to make any report lawfully required of him under the provisions of this Act, or to do or perform any other act so required to be done or performed by him, or who shall hinder or prevent another from doing an act so required to be done by that other, shall constitute a misdemeanor and such officers or official upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars, or imprisonment in the County jail for not more than sixty days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and such neglect or refusal shall constitute malfeasance in office, and subject such officer or official to removal from office.

Section 21. Wilful Misconduct:--Any person who shall wilfully give any false information or wilfully withhold information in any report lawfully required of him under the provisions of this act, or who shall remove, destroy, alter or mutilate any file or record of the Bureau, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and such person shall upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars nor more than One Hundred Dollars, or by imprison-

ment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court, and such act shall constitute malfeasance in office and subject such officer or official to removal from office.

Section 22. Liberal Construction:--This act shall be liberally construed, to the end that offenders may be promptly and certainly identified, apprehended, and prosecuted.

Section 24. Constitutionality:--Should any section or provision of this act be held to be invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the same shall not affect the validity of the act as a whole or any part thereof other than the portion so held to be invalid.

Section 25. Appropriation:--The sum of Five Thousand Dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the State Police, from the State Highway Department Funds, specifically for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act.